One year anniversary

We have been in the States one year today, and my, how the time has flown. Look at all the things we’ve done! Goodness, gracious!

Ian has been working on the kitchen. He has insulated the exterior wall, added the vapor barrier and readied it for the concrete board. The drywall in the kitchen is green because it is water resistant. Concrete board will be installed where the ceramic wall tile will be put up, which is in the wet areas around the sink (which will be under the south-facing window), the refrigerator and freezer units on the east wall and the dishwasher opposite on the west wall. We will have the gas cooktop in the corner with a vent mounted above it with a restaurant-quality exhaust blower taking smells outdoors.

Once the concrete board is installed on the entire kitchen floor we can begin laying the ceramic tile. On the north-facing wall, which has an archway into the living area, we will have an eat-in area and across from it a square-shaped wine rack built into the wall that will sit above cupboard that will match what is installed in the working kitchen area. We’re planning on putting in ceramic countertops as well, although we’ve not settled on a color. The floor is terracotta colored and the wall ceramic will be small slate squares of various hues. The rest of the kitchen walls will be painted a soft mint green, which should coordinate well with all the other earth tones.

Frankly, when we started this project I hadn’t envisioned doing so much of this ourselves, but it’s actually quite fun and certainly rewarding to see things come together. I guess that’s why DIY (Do It Yourself) programs are so popular; people are tackling these types of things themselves. OK, well, maybe not everyone is as crazy as we are, but you get my meaning.

Of course this is a big holiday weekend and I will have to find out where we can see 4th of July fireworks on Tuesday. The weather has turned very warm and a bit muggy, but we’re having fun on the farm.